Britney Spears Working with Will.I.Am Again

It’s no secret Britney Spears is back in the studio, recording new material. She tweeted she’s “working hard” with “some new inspiring producers,” so it's basically set in stone.

If accepting that judging position on “X Factor” indicates anything (and her PR team’s agenda continues it's course as planned), 2013 is the year of her full-fledged comeback. And with the producers name dropped across the in-progress album, even I’ll admit, this Britney record sounds hot.

Some of the notable names include none other than two-time collaborator will.i.am. The duo linked up for Femme Fatale’s “Big Fat Bass,” and currently have a single out, “Scream & Shout,” which is already tearing up the dance floor of your zip code’s nearest gay club.

However, the most promising name drop here is newcomer Hit-Boy. He’s the producer behind Kanye West and Jay-Z’s behemoth track “Niggas in Paris,” A$AP Rocky’s warped “Goldie,” and the pump you and your crew up pre-gamer “Clique,” so this sounds like a harder, more gritty direction for Britney. (Hit-Boy's also simultaneously cutting tracks for Beyoncé’s next album, so it’ll be cool to compare/contrast the two releases)

While her most recent disc Femme Fatale had the pretty great “Till The World Ends,” it also had the track “Inside Out,” which we in the office consider to be some “L.C.D. Brit Brit” (Lowest Common Denominator Britney). For the most part, not her most consistent effort. Her untitled follow-up sounds like less “more of the same” and something at least vaguely different.